BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
Senator Ben Hueso, Chair
BILL NO: SB 989 HEARING DATE: 4/8/14
AUTHOR: Galgiani
VERSION: 2/12/14
FISCAL: Yes
VOTE: 21
SUBJECT
Veterans benefits: state agencies and departments.
DESCRIPTION
Existing law:
1.Federal law provides an array of benefits to qualified
military veterans (and family members); such benefits supplied
mainly through the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA).
2.Existing state law provides:
a. County veterans service officers (CVSOs) to assist
California veterans in securing their federal VA
benefits.
b. That the California Department of Veterans Affairs
(CalVet) provide claims review and representation for VA
appeals services at its district offices.
This bill:
1.Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding
California's underperformance in helping its military veterans
obtain their federal benefits, especially disability
compensation payments and pensions.
a. States the Legislature's intent that CalVet
collaborate formally with other state agencies and
departments in ascertaining the veteran status of all
persons receiving services, benefits, or assistance from
those state agencies and departments.
2.Provides that:
a. The Employment Development Department (EDD) and
Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) - in consultation with
CalVet - may make available in their field offices printed
materials that inform veterans of available benefits and
services.
b. EDD and DMV shall collect and send voluntarily completed
forms to CalVet on at least a quarterly basis and add a
link to their Internet Web sites that directs parties to
the department's Internet Web site.
BACKGROUND
Federal Veterans Benefits
1. Disability Compensation
Disability compensation is a monetary benefit paid to a
veteran for any injury, condition, or illness that started in
or was exacerbated by active service in the military.
In order to qualify for veterans disability benefits, certain
criteria must be met. If the VA determines that a veteran
qualifies for disability benefits, it assigns the disability a
rating to signify the extent of the disability or disease. The
VA rates disability from 0% to 100% in 10% increments. The 10%
rating is the lowest rating for which compensable income is
awarded. A veteran with a 100% rating will have one or more
disabilities that significantly interfere with normal life
functions. A veteran with a 0% rating may have a
service-connected condition, but it doesn't interfere with
normal life functions. The majority of disabled veterans rated
at 10%, 20%, or 30%.
Over the years, a veteran's disability claim may require
re-rating. The re-ratings can be caused by changes in law,
advances in medical knowledge, or fluctuations in the
veteran's physical or mental condition. A veteran's percentage
rating may go up or down.
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2. VA Direct Health Care
The VA operates the nation's largest integrated health care
system with more than 1,500 sites of care, including
hospitals, community clinics, community living centers,
domiciliaries, readjustment counseling centers, and various
other facilities.
3. Hearing Loss
Veterans who have experienced hearing loss or suffer from
tinnitus may be eligible for monthly compensation and hearing
aids, repairs, and future batteries could all be provided at
no charge.
4. Presumptive Conditions
The VA presumes that specific disabilities diagnosed in
certain veterans were caused by their military service because
of unique circumstances in that particular geographic
location. Proof of relationship between service and condition
is not required. For example, Agent Orange is the name given
to the herbicides used to remove unwanted plant life which
provided cover for enemy forces in Vietnam. Shortly following
the Vietnam War, some veterans reported a variety of medical
problems attributed to exposure. Similarly, veterans who
served in active duty service in Gulf War I or II may have
been exposed to a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process
that makes nuclear fuel.
5. Dependency and Indemnity Compensation
"DIC" is a tax-free monetary benefit paid to eligible
survivors of military service members, who died in the line of
duty, or of eligible survivors of veterans, whose death
resulted from a service-related injury.
6. Pensions
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The VA pension is a benefit paid to (a) wartime veterans aged
65 or older, who have limited or no income, or (b) wartime
veterans, who are under 65 years if they are permanently and
totally disabled for reasons not related to their service.
Various other services and benefits are available to
veteran-eligible military members who leave the service after
retirement or after their military obligations have been met.
California Benefits Participation
The federal VA's most current publicly available data (as of
2010) on state-level participation in veterans benefits reflects
the following numbers for California:
General Information (2010) - California
Number of veterans: 2,025,934
VA expenditures in California: $8.2 billion
Compensation and pensions: $3.4 billion
Readjustment benefits: $382 million
Medical and construction programs: $4.1 billion
Insurance and indemnities: $123 million
Number of veterans receiving disability compensation or
pension payments: 276,373
Number of California veterans using GI Bill education
benefits: 46,897
Number of home loans in California backed by VA
guarantees: 21,606
Value of California home loans guaranteed by VA: $6
billion
Number of VA life insurance policies held by California
residents: 120,293
Value of VA life insurance policies held by California
residents: $1.5 billion
Number of California participants in VA's vocational
rehabilitation: 6,837
Number of veterans buried in California's VA national
cemeteries: 15,253
Number of headstones and markers provided for graves of
California veterans and survivors: 25,964
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Health Care -
California Inpatient admissions, statewide, fiscal year 2009:
47,996
o Central California (Fresno): 3,354
o Northern California (Sacramento): 4,184
o Palo Alto (including Livermore and Menlo Park):
7,632
o San Francisco: 4,656
o Loma Linda: 7,750
o Long Beach: 5,792
o San Diego: 6,786
o Greater Los Angeles: 7,842
Outpatient visits, statewide, fiscal year 2009:
4,743,607
CDVA 2010 Veterans Needs Assessment Survey
In early 2010 CalVet conducted a survey to learn about veterans'
needs and to find the best way to providing veteran services and
benefit information. The survey was conducted between February
and May. Among the results:
61% of veteran respondents to the survey said their
knowledge of veterans' benefits was average to nonexistent.
65% of veteran respondents to the survey said that their
reasons for not receiving or claiming VA benefits was they
did not know how to file/where to get help, chose not to
file, or did not know about benefits.
In general, 53% of respondents responded employment
needs as the most critical to veterans in general, followed
by healthcare (44%), learning about benefits (37%), and
training/education (35%).
Respondents aged 39 years and younger were the most
likely to report needing a job, training/education, and
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healthcare. In fact, the need for a job,
training/education, and healthcare decreased with age, with
respondents aged 70 or older being the least likely to need
these benefits.
COMMENTS
1.Related Legislation :
AB 2703 (Quirk-Silva, pending Assembly, 2014) would appropriate
$6 million from the General Fund to CalVet for disbursement to
counties to fund the activities of county veterans service
officers and would encourage innovation and high-quality
service by the CVSOs.
SB 296 (Correa, held Senate Approps Suspense, 2013 ) would have
appropriated $9 million from the General Fund to CalVet for
disbursement to counties to fund the activities of county
veterans service officers and specified veterans service
organizations. The bill's intent was superseded by AB 110, the
State Budget Bill enacted in June 2013. The Budget Bill
authorized a one-time, $3 million appropriation to be
distributed to CVSOs - based on relative workload units
reported for Fiscal Year 2012-13.
SB 354 (Roth, pending Assembly Veterans Affairs, 2013-14)
requires CalVet to develop outcome and related indicators for
veterans, for the purpose of assessing the status of veterans
in California, for monitoring the quality of programs intended
to serve those veterans, and to guide decision making on how to
improve those services.
AJR 19 (Pan, Res. Ch. 154, Stats. 2013) urges the Congress and
President to provide benefits, including applicable spousal
benefits, to those veterans discriminated against solely on the
basis of their sexual orientation.
AB 557 (J.P�rez, died Senate Approps, 2011) would have created
the California Interagency Council on Veteran Services and
Programs to assess how California veterans are accessing
available state and federal benefits. This bill's intent was
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fulfilled when the Governor issued Executive Order B-9-11 on
August 23, 2011.
POSITIONS
Sponsor: Author
Support:
American Legion - Department of California
AMVETS - Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
(CACVSO)
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Military Officers Association of America, California Council of
Chapters (MOAA)
Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California (VFW)
Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council (VVA)
Oppose: None on file
Analysis by: Wade Cooper Teasdale
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